Method of smelting and incinerating.



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METHOD 0F SMELHNG AND INCINERATING.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. I3. I9I3. IIENEWED APR. 26. I9I5.

11110111611 Nov. 16, 11115.

A'rroRNmr WILLIAM R. HESLEWOOD, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR, BYMESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO HYDRO VACUUM SMELTING CO., 0F OAKLAND,CALIFORNIA, A CORPO- RATION 0F CALIFORNIA.

METHOD OF SMELTING AND INCINERATING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

Application led January 13, 1913, Serial No. 741,625. Renewed April 26,1915. Serial No. 24,157.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM R. HEsLE- woon, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Oakland, in the county ofv Alameda and State ofCalifornia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Methods ofSmelting and Incinerating, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for smelting andincinerating.

It is the object of this invention to provide a process for smelt-ingand incinerating, and a means for accomplishing same by which the use ofcrude petroleum and other hydrocarbons as a fuel for smelting ores andincinerating garbage and like operations, is rendered possible andpractical.

A further object is to provide a method and means for smelting andincinerating by which an intense heat is evolved from a liquid orgaseous fuel, and by which a thorough action of the heat is securedthrough-l out the diameter of the furnace and fusion zone to'effect arapid, efficient and economical reduction of the materials being worked.

Another object is to provide a method of smelting, and apparatustherefor, by which the necessity of delivering charges of fuel with theores or other materials to be treated other than the combustiblesnaturally contained therein, is largely obviated and by which thefreezing of the charge is rendered practically impossible during thesmelting or incinerating operation.

The invention primarily resides in burning a hydrocarbon fuel on oneside of a body of the materials to be smelted or incinerated, anddrawing the hot gases thus generated through the materials by induceddraft or suction. This method is distinguished from the well known blastsystem in which the heat units are forced through the body of materialsbeine,r worked, by fans or blowers from the side of the body on whichthe heatY is generated, in, that the heat is drawn through the body fromthe side opposite the point of combustion by induced draft. Theprincipal advantage of the present method resides in the fact, that bydrawing the hot gases through the body or mass of material in thefurnace by suction, an equal force is yexerted throughout the wholemass, causing the heat to be distributed immediately and thoroughlytherethrough, whereas, in the blast system channels are formed in themass byl reason of the resistance offered by the mass to the passage ofthe blast therethrough, which channels follow the line of leastreslstance in the mass resulting in portions of the mass beingunsubjected for a time to the direct action of the heat. Furthermorethis resistance of the charge to penetration of the blast causes backfiring where liquid or gaseous fuels are employed, for the reason thatthe penetration is slower than the combustion, thereby reducing theheating eiliciency.

Another advantageresides in the fact that by drawing the heat unit-sthrough the mass no cooling of the heat units is occasioned in thefurnace other than what is caused by contact withv the mass which islargely compensated for by the burning of combustible materials therein,whereas in the blast system-the volume of air required to force a draftthrough the mass being greater than that necessary for combustion, aconsequent reduction of temperature results; the excess volume of airrequired for penetration acting as a cooling agent.

The apparatus employed for carrying out the present method of smeltingand incinerating is shown in the accompanying drawing in which theligure illustrates a vertical section thereof, and in which A representsa furnace of any suitable construction, preferably having a verticalshaft 2. The ores to be smelted or the materials to be incinerated aredelivered to the shaft 2 at its upper end through a feed hopper 3, ofany suitable construction. A Crucible or hearth 4 is formed at the lowerc nd of the furnace and a suitable draw-ofi' 5 is provided adjacentthereto.

Formed in the walls of the furnace at any suitable point above thehearth 4 is a series of chambers 6, which-are preferably conical ascrude petroleum may be delivered to the interior'of the chambers 6, fromany suitable source of supply; Valves 9 belng provided'for regulatingthe amount of fuel de-v a livered to the chambers 6.

The chambers 6 are designed to serve as mixing and combustion chambersfor theV liquid or gaseous fuel and air delivered thereto, in which thefuel is burned before entering the furnace shaft 2.

The upper end of the shaft2 communicates through a vseries'of vents 1()with a water-jacketed flue or pipe 11 which leads to an ejector casingA12 formed of two bellshaped or opposed conical sections securedtogether at their mouths; the pipe 11 terminating in one of the conicalsect1ons of the casing 12 at a point to one side of its axis.

Projecting axially into the end of the casing 8 at the axes of theconical section to which the pipe 11 connects, and in close proximity tothe open end of the latter, is a nozzle 13. The nozzle 13 is connectedto the discharge end of a pump 14 of any suitable description,preferably of the centrifugal type, the inlet of which is connected to.a pipe 15 leading to a tankor reservoir 16, and opening thereto somedistance below the surface of water or other suitable liquid there- Yin; the pump 14 being provided as a means for forcibly ejecting theliquid inthe tank through the nozzle 13, at Yhigh pressure and Withgreat velocity.

The nozzle 13 discharges into an opening formed in the apex of theconical section of the casing12 directly opposite the discharge end ofthe nozzle. This opening leads to a divergent pipe or throat 17 whichleads and opens to the interior of the ,tank 16 adjacentits bottom andYbeneath the liquid contained therein.

In carrying out the present process a preliminary or initial chargeofcarbon in the form of coke or charcoal is placed in the furnace andignited. The pump 14 then being set in operation, the liquid in the tank16 willbe rapidly drawn into the pipe 15 and discharged back into thetank through the nozzle 13, casing 12, and throat 1 7, thus beingconstantly circulated. The rapidly moving jet directed by the nozzlev 13across the chamber 12 tends to create a vacuum therein by drawing theairand other gases out of the chamber 12 and ejecting them into the tank 16. This exhaustion of the air from the chamber 12 creates a suctiontherein which acts through the pipe 11 to induce a suction or vacuum inthe space in the shaft 2 above the preliminary carbon charge therein,thereby inducing `a draft in the furnace. The draft induced by theejector drawsair into the. furnace to support the combustion` of thepreliminary carbon .created by the ejector acting charge which, onburning, generates an intense heat in a fewmoments, which radiates intothe chambers 6. The liquid or gaseous burning carbon charge vaporizingthe1 fuel, ifliquidfhydrocarbon is used, and igniting the inixture offuel and air in the chambers 6. The gradually increasing diameter` ofvthe chambersY 6 allows for the expansion of the heated ases therein.The induced draft draws the ot products of combustion into the furnacefrom the chambers 6. 'The furnace is then charged continuously with thematerials to be treated, which vary as occasion demands; such forinstance, as mineral containing ores to be smelted, or garbage to beincinerated. The primary-carbon charge is employed principally as agenerating means, and in some instances may be dispensed with; any othermeans of generation may be employed. The temperature of the heatradiating into the chambers 6 from the stack, when the furnace-is yinoperation, is great enough to maintain a continuous vaporization andcombustion of the liquid fuel.

The pull or suction of the induced draft A equally throughout thediameter of the shaft, tends to raise or liftthe bodies composing thecharge or mass in the furnace and creates an upwardsuction through thelinterstices between the bodies in the mass which acts toy draw the hotgases evolved by the burning fuel in the lower part of the furnaceupward, equally 4and uniformly through the mass. v

The suction maintained in the furnace by the ejector causes air to rushthrough the twyers 7 to displace that burned with the liquid fuel; thevolume of which may be regulated by adjusting the speed .of the pump 14.

By regulating the quantityiof air drawn in by the suction draft andadjusting the delivery of the fuel to the chambers 6, the prop erproportions for the complete combustion of the latter' may be obtained,which results in a high temperature .being pro-V duced, the extent. ofwhich is proportional and is limited only to the quantity of fuelburned.

The heat generated in this' furnace in creases in proportion to the fueladded,

making itpossible to generate heat in an asl cending scale without anydecrease atv any point. The high temperature inthe furnace insures arapid combustion ofthe Agaseous fuel in the chambers 6, vand the of thematerials on this plane taking place instantaneously, the mostrefractory materials being broken down by the intense heat generated atthis point. This, with the even distribution of the heat unitsthroughout the materials, being treated, results in the rapid reductionof same, which has been found in practice to exceed that possible withthe ordinary blast furnace, and only obtainable in an electric furnace.

The products of combustion and hot gases generated in the furnace by thefusion of the materials are drawn upward throughout the mass ofmaterials above the fusion zone, and act to effectively roast thecharge; these gases being drawn off from the furnace by the ejector. Thehot gases on coming in contact with the Water jet in the ejector areconsiderably cooled, which results in a reduction of their volume. Thisis an important feature, which adds to the efficiency of the apparatus,as the reduction of the volume of gases at this point increases thesuction in the casing 12, and thereby augments the draft. The gasesdrawn into thek ejector are delivered into the tank 1G be low the liquidtherein, and are there further condensed and collected for furthertreatment.

It has been found in practice that the charge in the furnace which ismore or less broken up, acts as no obstruction to the draft and permitsof materials in a fine -state of division being treated, which wouldchoke the ordinaryv type of furnace, and vconsequently result infreezing.

An important feature of this invention resides in the impossibility ofthe mass in the furnace congealing or freezing and consequently chokingthe combustion chambers and twyers when the furnace is in operation,thus rendering it unnecessary to bar the twyers to keep them open; andin the ease with which a freeze can be overcome if it should occur by ashut down; it having been ascertained in practice that cold iron at themouth of the combustion chambers can be melted down in a few moments, bythe impact thereon of the flames drawn from the chambers 6.

It is manifest that various materialsrequire various treatments in thefurnace. For instance, in smelting sulfid ores, portions of the ore arecombustible and it is therefore K necessary to draw more air into thefurnace thanis required to combust the liquid fuel in order to supportthe combustion of the combustible portions of the ore; the sulfidsassisting in the generation of heat. In some cases it may be desirableto introduce coke or charcoal to the furnace with a charge, butordinarily this is not required. Again, Where oxidization of mineralores is desired, the oil may be temporarily cut off to allow theintroduction and distribution of oxygen throughout the charge. In anyevent the quantity of oxygen supplied to the furnace in a unit of timecan be regulated by varying the speed and volume of the jet in theejector by adjusting the speed of the pump 14, or in any other manner;as the volume of air admitted through the twyers is proportional to thevolume of gases drawn 0E by the ejector.

` It is obvious that the hereinbefore described process and apparatus isapplicable for use in the treatment of various ores and that it is alsoadapted for use in incinerating garbage or other materials. It is alsoapparent that various fuels may be employed, either liquid or gaseous,and that various forms of furnace construction may be resorted to asoccasion demands, and that any form of suction device may be used,though the suction device shown is preferred owing to its high power andeliciency.

The main feature of the construction of the apparatus resides in thecombustion chambers 6, and particularly in the inclined roof thereof,and arranging these chambers to one side of the main shaft in suchmanner that molten matter running down the Walls of the shaft will dropfrom the upper edges of the chambers G into the crucible and not runback into the chambers. This insures the prevention of the chambers 6becoming choked. While the chambers 6 are here shown as separated, it ismanifest that they could be connected to form one continuous annularchamber if desired. 100

It is essential to keep the chambers 6 free from obstructions anduncongested so that there will be sufficient space for the combustion ofthe fuel. The suction draft insures combustion taking place in thechambers 6, 105 owing to the products of combustion being immediatelydrawn into the furnace and a direct current established through thechambers 6. Combustion could not be supported in the chambers 6 by aforced draft owing to 110 back fire.

Combustion of the materials in the furnace is confined to a zone withinthe furnace, which zone is governed by the amount of air admittedthereto. By confining the 115 combustion of fuel to a zone, thematerials above the combustion zone are roasted and carbonized by theheat units passing therethrough, but not consumed, because no oxygen ismixed therewith to support combus- 12S tion. This feature isparticularly advantageous in garbage incinerating operations, in thatthe moisture in the garbage permits of the Vegetable oils becomingvolatilized without being consumed or incinerated. The 125 top of thefurnace being hermetically sealed by the liquid in the tank, preventsoxygen from mixing with the hot gases, so that the carbonized gasestherein will not be combusted, and no oxygen reaching the carbon L30 inthe furnace the carbon can not burn until it reaches the combustionzone.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent, isl The hereindescribed smel'ting and inciner-l atingmethod which consists in coniining a mass of material, subjecting sameto combustion at the base portion and at one side thereof, then insetting up a circulatory body of Water which leadsA from and dischargesinto a main body of Water to form a vacuum, and then in placing thevacuum in communication with a point above the surface of the materialto cause the vacuum to draw vthe gases from above the surface of thematerial into said circulatory body of Water and be discharged directly.with the latter into the main body of Water.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set 20 my hand in the ypresence oftwo subscribing Witnesses. y

WILLIAM It. HESLEWOOD. Witnesses:

CARL T. LANGHREY, J= A..HESLEW00D.

